Turkey Presses Ahead With Iraq Offensive

Military Reports 7 Troops, Dozens Of Kurdish Rebels Killed In Cross-Border Fighting

(CBS/AP)  Turkish forces pressed ahead with ground operations against Kurdish rebels in Iraq on Saturday. Two Turkish soldiers and at least 35 Kurdish rebels died in new fighting in northern Iraq today, the Turkish military said.

Turkish forces pressed ahead with ground operations against Kurdish rebels in Iraq that began earlier this week. It is Turkey's first major ground incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in nearly a decade.

A total of seven soldiers and at least 79 rebels have been killed in Iraq since Turkey launched a ground incursion late Thursday, according to the military.

The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said it killed 15 troops on Saturday's clashes and was in possession of their bodies, the pro-Kurdish news agency Firat reported, citing rebel spokesman Ozgur Gabar. It was not possible to independently confirm the conflicting claims of casualty tolls.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials expressed displeasure Saturday with Turkey's ground incursion into Iraq to pursue Kurdish rebels, with Iraq's government spokesman suggesting Turkey take another approach and the Kurdish president warning the Turks not to target civilians.

The U.S.-backed Iraqi government said Turkey had assured it that the operation, Ankara's first major ground incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in nearly a decade, would target only rebels who have staged hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets from hideouts in northern Iraq.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraqis understood that Turkey faced threats from the fighters of the PKK, which has waged a battle for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for years, often using bases in northern Iraq.

"But military operations will not solve the PKK problem. Turkey has resorted to military options but this never resulted in a good thing," al-Dabbagh said at a news conference on reconstruction. "Turkey should adopt another type of solution."

Meanwhile, a Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in a land mine blast on Saturday in the Turkish province of Bingol, nearly 190 miles from the border, local media said.

Two buses and five vans on Saturday ferried soldiers toward the Turkish border town of Cukurca, which lies north of the combat area, Dogan news agency reported. Vehicles used to carry ammunition were seen returning from the border area.

Two Turkish warplanes were seen flying toward Cukurca, Dogan said, but it was unclear whether they were on a bombing mission.

Further west, soldiers in Besta swept roads for possible land mines. Dozens of troops carrying assault rifles, light mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and sleeping mats patrolled near mountains with snow-covered peaks.

Supported by air power, Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq late Thursday in an offensive that marked a dramatic escalation in Turkey's fight with the rebel PKK, even though Turkish officials described the operation as limited.

The Turkish military said five troops and 24 Kurdish rebels were killed in clashes. At least 20 more rebels were killed by artillery and helicopter gunships, it said. Artillery units positioned near Cukurca could be heard firing shells across the border on Friday evening, Dogan agency reported.

The Iraqi government said Saturday that fewer than 1,000 Turkish troops had crossed the frontier. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Turkish commanders had assured Iraq that the "operation will be a limited one and it will not violate certain standards that they have set."

Al-Dabbagh said Iraq's president and prime minister had spoken to Turkish officials.

"We know the threats that Turkey is facing but military operations will not solve the PKK problem. Turkey has resorted to military options, but this never resulted in a good thing," al-Dabbagh said. He acknowledged that Turkey was "suffering from the terrorist PKK organization."

On Friday, a military officer of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq said on condition of anonymity that several hundred Turkish soldiers had crossed the border. The coalition has satellites as well as drones and other surveillance aircraft at its disposal.

Sky-Turk television said about 2,000 Turkish soldiers were in Iraq, operating against rebel camps about 2-2.5 miles in from the border. NTV television said a total of 10,000 soldiers were inside Iraq in an operation that had extended 6 miles past the frontier. The activity was reportedly occurring about 60 miles east of Cizre, a major town near the border with Iraq.

It was not possible to confirm independently the size or scope of the attack on the PKK, which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. CNN-Turk television, citing Turkish security officials, said the operation could last two weeks.

The advance was the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Turkey's army is believed to have carried out unacknowledged "hot pursuits" in recent years, with small groups of troops staying in Iraq for as little as a few hours or a day.

Turkey staged about two-dozen attacks in Iraq during the rule of Saddam, who conducted brutal campaigns against Iraqi Kurds. Some Turkish offensives, including several in the late 1990s, involved tens of thousands of soldiers. Results were mixed; rebels suffered combat losses but regrouped after Turkish forces withdrew.

The PKK militants are fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The conflict started in 1984 and has claimed as many as 40,000 lives.

Turkey's government has complained that Iraqi and U.S. authorities were not doing enough to stop guerrilla operations. The Turkish air force has been staging air raids on PKK forces in the north since December with the help of intelligence provided by the U.S., a NATO ally.

"We continue to express our absolute solidarity with Turkey about the PKK. This is a common enemy of the United States and Turkey," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday in Washington. "It is also an enemy of the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government because the Iraqi territory cannot be used for terror, should not be used for terrorist attacks against Turkey."

Rice, however, said: "We've also been very clear, though, that stability and progress for Iraq is in the interest of Turkey. And so, everything should keep in mind that nothing should be done to destabilize what is a fragile but improving situation in Iraq."

Iraq's Oil Ministry, meanwhile, confirmed that oil exports to turkey would flow unimpeded. A pipeline that runs into Turkey was often halted in past years due to sabotage, but is now pumping more than 300,000 barrels per day.

"Turkish military operations will not affect pumping oil through this pipeline as both Iraqi and Turkish governments are keen not to halt it," Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani's office warned in a statement that the regional government would not stand by if the Turks struck civilians.

"The regional government of Kurdistan will not be a part of the conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK fighters. But at the same time we stress that if the Turkish military targets any Kurdish civilian citizens or any civilian structures then we will order a large-scale resistance," it said.

Tariq Jawhar, a spokesman for the National Assembly of Kurdistan, a regional body, said that "we want the Iraqi federal government and the U.S. to ... work hard to stop this aggression and to seek peaceful negotiation to solve the problem."

"Such military operations are considered a clear violation of the federal Iraqi territory," he said.


Volley Of Rockets Or Mortars Targets U.S.-Protected Green Zone In Iraq

Rockets or mortars hit the U.S.-protected Green Zone early Saturday, just a day after powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia to extend its cease-fire by another six months.

Starting about 6:15 a.m., nearly 10 blasts could be heard in the sprawling area along the Tigris River that houses the U.S. and British embassies, the Iraqi government headquarters and thousands of American troops.

Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman, confirmed the Green Zone was hit by indirect fire - the military's term for a rocket or mortar attack - but could not immediately provide more details.

It was the fourth time this week that U.S. outposts in Baghdad appeared to be the targets of rocket or mortar attacks, killing at least six people and wounding both Iraqis and Americans, including at least two U.S. troops.

The flurry of attacks has followed a substantial lull in such assaults as security has increased and violence around the capital has dropped over the last half-year.

As the U.S. praised al-Sadr for extending his cease-fire it also pledged to pursue the breakaway militias, which it calls "special groups."

"Those who dishonor the Sadr pledge are regrettably tarnishing both the name and the honor of the movement," it said.

[oneStarman]

GENOCIDAL TURKS - Kurds, Armenians, Greeks and others have known torture and death at the hands of Turkey for over a century. Millions have been the victims of ''ethnic cleansing'' by a government that will not tolerate any resistance to the crushing boot to the face of the infamously brutal turks.

[mrconservatv]

The political terms left and right arose during the French Revolution,

and the original meaning of

far right

was the throne-and-altar reactionaries such as Joseph de Maistre and Louis de Bonald.

They rejected democracy, liberalism and individualism, and were in favour of an authoritarian monarchical government.

far right

They rejected democracy, liberalism and individualism


Hey just like jowand does

[j-whitman]

jowand,,,, Just who are the American Haters ?? ---

Those of us who want this nation to progress, solve it''s domestic issues, rebuild it''s infrastructure & security and establish credible foreign policies as a model of democracy for otghers to emulate ???

Or is it the GOP who want to set this nation back to the 1920''s on every issue including foreign ???

[j-whitman]

jowand,,,, Just who are the American Haters ?? Your republicans who never enlist & call everyone else an American Hater ??

Or, is it those Americans who demand higher accountability & truth once in a while from an incompetent President & corrupt immoral GOP.

Or, is it those Americans who demand this contry change from the policies that have made us much less safe, caused ''Exceptionaly Grave Damage'' to our National Security ???

[jowand]

I demand that a draft be instituted immediately! Our diplomats should never be inconvenienced by freedom fighters anywhere in the world!--not when there are pot-bellied neo-cons and their semi-retarded offspring who can shed a few pounds and make their mark on a contract to join up and protect OUR sovereignty...as represented by said pool and tennis courts....This is crucial to the survival of democracy!! Posted by Prinzowhales at 03:32 PM : Feb 24, 2008

That''s a whale of a tail, O'' Prancing Prince, you go volunteer and set the example for the rest of your pot-bellied ProRat America haters.

[prinzowhales]

How many more years and American lives and treasure will it take before our diplomats can enjoy the new embassy''s pool and tennis court without..."indirect fire"?

I demand that a draft be instituted immediately! Our diplomats should never be inconvenienced by freedom fighters anywhere in the world!--not when there are pot-bellied neo-cons and their semi-retarded offspring who can shed a few pounds and make their mark on a contract to join up and protect OUR sovereignty...as represented by said pool and tennis courts....This is crucial to the survival of democracy!!

[sgtrds]

"It was the fourth time this week that U.S. outposts in Baghdad appeared to be the targets of rocket or mortar attacks, killing at least six people and wounding both Iraqis and Americans, including at least two U.S. troops."

Come on George! The US death toll is up to 3,973! You still have 27 more of our soldiers to murder before you can proudly proclaim that 4,000 of our young men and women have died for NOTHING in YOUR war! Mission accomplished you bas*****!

[glossypan]

Friday, February 15, 2008 11:11 AM The Herald Sun
" WASHINGTON -- Republican frontrunner John McCain drew sharp distinctions with his Democratic White House rivals over Iraq, saying an untimely US withdrawal would bring about genocide."
** ** ** ** ** **
The major rationale for our continuing occupation of Iraq is to prevent genocide. Turkey has pursued a policy of genocide against the Kurds since at least 1915.They are using American taxpayer dollars and American weapons to eradicate the Kurds.
*** *** *** *** *** ***
The quote is from a Rupert Murdoch paper in Austalia. Mr. Murdoch, an Australian, has been aggressively advocating a continued US presence in Iraq and the McCain candidacy, with a secondary interest in the Clinton effort, in his international media empire. Mr Murdoch''s holdings include The London Times, The New York Post, Fox Television, Dow Jones Newswires, MySpace and The Wall Street Journal.

[gkc99]

If freedom is good enough for Kosovo, why not for Kurdistan?

If the USA finds it appropriate to assist Kosovars in expelling oppressive landlords, the Serbs, why does the USA not find it appropriate to assist Kurds in exprelling the Turks, far harsher owners than the Serbs?

Could it be that the Darth Bushit regime has a less than stellar committment to freedom, and only uses the rhetoric when it fits the Neocon-scum game plan?

Ya think?

[smirk5]

demslie,
Do you know any Democrats in your area who have blown anything up recently because they hate America or are you just living in an isolated fantasy world? Really, tell me how many Democrats you''ve talked to are hoping for a nuclear attack on America? Do you ever talk to real people? And that gay-socialist-decapitation fetish you''ve got going should steer you straight to a mental health professional.

[demslie]

Yes Turkey can invade IRAQ, but its all Bush''s fault. Al Qaeda could invade America and Democrats would be there to blame America First. IRAN in not building nuclear weapons. Democrats say they just want the extra power to love and hug everyone, not to nuke us back to the stone age. No matter what the evidence, the Democrats are going to hate America. The words said here by IRAN, Al Qaeda and Democrats are exactly the same. Even the UN who hates America as much as Democraps had to admit that IRAN is pushing ahead with its nuclear weapons programs. But the Democrats are still here calling America the bad country and hoping that terrorists will kill every American Family with atomic bombs. Then the world will be rid of bad old American and we can live in one big happy Democrat ******* Commune like good little Communists. Oh, I forgot, IRAN chops the heads off ******* but, they are still better than Americans.

[smirk5]

The enemy has been "on the run" according to Bush for months now. Of course, they haven''t left Baghdad yet.

[smirk5]

The latest:
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims Sunday on a highway south of Baghdad, killing at least 25 people and wounding 20, police said.

Obama is unpatriotic because he won''t wear the pin. McCain is patriotic because he wants to keep our troops in an unwinnable occupation for hundreds or thousands of years.

[asmauzum]

And here is other photos from N.Iraq

http://www.tsk.mil.tr/10_ARSIV/10_4_Diger_Haberler/2008/sinir_harekati_2008/23_subat_2008.htm

[asmauzum]

If you want some photos from original source;
Here is Turkish Military Official Website and these photos are new(Taken yesterday by TR Military)

http://www.tsk.mil.tr/10_ARSIV/10_4_Diger_Haberler/2008/sinir_harekati_2008/24_subat_2008.htm

[ontheleft]

It doesn''t matter what the puppet Iraqi government thinks of Turkey coming across its border. Turkey is there with the blessing of the United States. The United States controls the border and the airspace. Duh.

[mrconservatv]

The political terms left and right arose during the French Revolution,

and the original meaning of

far right

was the throne-and-altar reactionaries such as Joseph de Maistre and Louis de Bonald.

They rejected democracy, liberalism and individualism, and were in favour of an authoritarian monarchical government.

[nicholswfu-2009]

Pilgrams way is obviously crazy and just cut and pastes that same post in response to multiple articles on multiple websites. Hopefully the day will come when there are no republicans and we are left only with fair,caring and intelligent people.

[nicholswfu-2009]

To the U.S. people saying " Military action will not solve problem" I say - " U.S. invasion of Iraq will not solve problem". How stupid is the U.S.? military is the supposed solution to all of our problems with terrorists but somehow, will not solve the problems of any other country....how stupid do they think we are? OBAMA ''08 - Get the Bush Dictatorship out of power!!!!!

[pilgrimsway-2009]

If there was a secret radical Muslim in the white house as president what would He CHANGE? Would He CHANGE the way to make it easy for terrorists to get into this country to over throw this country? Would He CHANGE the laws for any of His kind? Would He hang out with those who supported tyranny against this country? Would He impose martial law? Could He start unjust wars for His hidden ideology? Could His decisions CHANGE the course for America? Would He CHANGE your civil liberties? Last of all would He CHANGE your mind that you voted for Him? Believe me when I say there are no one with hidden agenda%u2019s in this world!

If there was a secret radical Muslim in the white house as president what would He CHANGE?

I just hope to all who read my comment on the radical Muslim do not think I am talking about any of the presidential candidates! If you do it just shows your short sightedness!